Zack Cozart went 0-for-4 in Thursday’s loss, leaving him with a .195 average and a .220 OBP in 87 at-bats this season. Cozart’s only qualification for batting second in Cincinnati’s order is that he’s a middle infielder. And middle infielders should be able to hit second. It’s a rule or something. Cozart isn’t truly a bad player. He’s a fine defender, and he’s got some real pop in his bat. It’s just that he belongs in the seventh or eighth spot in the lineup and not in between Shin-Soo Choo and Joey Votto. (Rotoworld)

Cliff Lee was good early but struggled late Thursday, giving up three runs on 10 hits and a walk over seven innings in a loss to the Pirates. Lee was able to dodge a few bullets in the first five innings, but things got hairy in the sixth and seventh, when he gave up five hits, a walk and all three of his runs. Lee threw 122 pitches Thursday, which is four shy of his career high. After a great first three starts, the lefty hasn’t been extra sharp the last two times out. He’ll bring a 3.03 ERA and 1.04 WHIP into Cleveland next week. (Rotoworld)

Juan Pierre went 1-for-5 at the plate Thursday, but knocked in a run, scored a run and stole two bases. Pierre is hitting just .195 on the early season, but has provided owners with the steals they were looking for when they drafted him, as he now has five. (Rotowire)

Kevin Slowey was strong in a no-decision Thursday, allowing three runs over six innings of work against the Cubs. He allowed only five hits and walked none while striking out six. Despite a 2.43 ERA and 1.15 WHIP, he is still looking for his first win with the offense-starved Marlins. Despite a solid 2.43 ERA, Slowey is 0-2 as the Marlins have scored just six runs in his five starts. He has 21 strikeouts and just six walks in 29 2/3 innings. Slowely is scheduled to make his next start Tuesday against the Mets. (Rotowire, CBS Sports)

Travis Snider, who went 1-for-3 with a run scored Thursday, is batting .309 (17-for-62). Snider’s contact rates are up across the board, including a 91.6 rate for pitches thrown in the strike zone. Most importantly, Snider’s plate discipline (7:12 BB:K) is the best it’s been at the major-league level. He’ll continue to platoon in right field, seeing better than a 50-50 playing-time split against right-handed pitching. (Rotowire)

Reds second baseman Brandon Phillips went hitless for the third straight time Thursday, going 0 for 3 against the Nationals in his team’s 8-1 loss. Phillips is 0 for 10 in his last three games and 1 for 16 in his last four, dropping his season average to .264. (CBS Sports)

Dodgers reliever Kenley Jansen picked up his first win of the season Thursday. Jansen pitched a scoreless eighth inning, giving up one hit and one walk. Jansen struck out two during the outing. Andre Ethier and Juan Uribe hit run-scoring singles in the ninth, giving Jansen the win. (CBS Sports)

Ted Lilly allowed one run over five innings Wednesday, but the Dodgers lost to the Mets in extra innings. Lilly was making his first start of the season following September shoulder surgery, and the start had to be a relief to the newly pitching-deficient Dodgers. Lilly did allow six hits but kept the Mets at bay by registering seven strikeouts. His next start will come Monday against the Rockies at Dodger Stadium. (Rotoworld)

Edward Mujica picked up his third save in three days Wednesday against the Nationals. Mujica retired all eight batters he faced in recording those saves. Of course, it helped that the eight batters he faced were Anthony Rendon x2, Danny Espinosa x2, Kurt Suzuki, Ian Desmond, Chad Tracy and Jonathan Solano. Mujica is now 4-for-4 in save opportunities this season. (Rotoworld)

Rob Brantly went 3-for-5 with two doubles and four RBI in the Marlins’ win over the Twins on Tuesday. Brantly and Miguel Olivo have been sharing time at catcher for the Marlins this year, but Brantly made a strong case for more playing time on Tuesday. Brantly doubled twice off Twins starter Mike Pelfrey and now has six doubles on the season. The 23-year-old is the closest thing the Marlins have to a “catcher of the future” at this point. (Rotoworld)

Mike Minor yielded three runs in six innings to pick up the win as the Braves topped the Rockies 4-3 in the first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader. Minor was both unlucky and lucky in the third. Dexter Fowler’s leadoff triple would have been a single in any park other than Coors with its huge gaps, and it was followed by a little tapper to second from Josh Rutledge that went for an RBI single. He caught a break right after that, though, as Carlos Gonzalez’s bid for a double down the right-field line landed just foul. The three runs Minor allowed today were his most since Aug. 31, a span of nine starts. He’s now 3-1 with a 1.80 ERA. (Rotoworld)

Russell Martin extended his hit streak to eight games with an eighth-inning single off Cole Hamels during the Pirates’ 2-0 win over the Phillies on Tuesday. Of course, he was just 1-for-4 on the night and left five men on base, but that’s par for the course with Martin these days. While the streak has been nice and he’s got four multi-hit games in his last six, he still batting just .241 on the season. (Rotowire)

Brewers starting pitcher Hiram Burgos will make his second career start Friday night at Los Angeles, MLB.com reports. Manager Ron Roenicke could have opted to skip Burgos’ turn in the rotation this time through with the Brewers having an off-day Thursday, but with Kyle Loshe being considered questionable to make his next start due to a pinkie injury, Roenicke decided to stick with the 25-year-old. Burgos (1-0) tossed five innings in his first career start against the Cubs last Saturday, allowing just one run on five hits. He also registered one strikeout, while becoming the first Brewers pitcher to win his major-league debut since Yovani Gallardo in 2007. (CBS Sports)

Braves activated 1B Freddie Freeman from the 15-day disabled list. Freeman will bat cleanup in his return Tuesday afternoon against the Rockies. The 23-year-old hit .412 (7-for-17) with one homer, one double and seven RBI over his first five games this season prior to going on the disabled list with a strained oblique. He has the potential for a breakout season. He went 7-for-17 in five games earlier this season and will pick up the everyday first base duties moving forward, so don’t hesitate to get him back in your lineup right away. (Rotowire)

Edward Mujica pitched a perfect ninth for a save in a 3-2 game against the Nationals on Monday. Mujica had the easier assignment tonight after Trevor Rosenthal faced the top of the order in a scoreless eighth; Mujica got the six-through-eight hitters and retired them all for his second save. Until he starts giving up homers again, Mujica should be the guy for saves in St. Louis. (Rotoworld)

Dan Haren lost to the Cardinals after allowing three runs in five innings on Monday night. Haren has yet to deliver a quality start in four trips to the mound. At least in his first three starts, he had a 12/1 K/BB ratio. Tonight, he struck out three, walked three and hit a batter. A quick turnaround hardly appears likely. (Rotoworld)

Ryan Braun went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI in Monday’s 7-1 win over the Padres. The home run was Braun’s fourth in his past five games and he already has 19 RBI in 54 at-bats. Fantasy owners do not need to worry about the neck spasms that kept Braun out of three games towards the beginning of the season.

Ryan Braun slugged his third home run of the season on Thursday as the Brewers defeated the Giants. The first-inning home run snapped a mini slump for Braun. He boasts a cool .275/.396/.575 batting line, three home runs and 10 RBI through 11 games this season. The 29-year-old should again challenge for the NL MVP. (Rotoworld)

Travis Snider went 2-for-4 with two doubles and a walk Thursday, raising his batting average to .314 (11-for-35). Snider has five doubles thus far, two of which narrowly missed going out of the park. He looks comfortable at the plate. Last season was a struggle for Snider, who battled a hamstring ailment, but he appears healthy now and could prove to be a decent buy-low candidate. If nothing else, he’s off to a good start. (Rotowire)

Todd Frazier had a big night Thursday against the Marlins, going 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and three runs scored. He also drew a walk. Frazier went through a lull after a red-hot first week, but he’s now gone deep in consecutive games and has five longballs and 14 RBI for the season to go along with a .298 batting mark. He should continue to be a fine option at the hot corner for fantasy owners. (Rotoworld) Also see the Deadspin article: 10 MetersOn a Roll 10 Meter Length for Warm Tartan Fleece Material Christmas Burns Red CheckOn a Roll

Mike Minor held the Royals to one run in six innings Wednesday, but he still took his first loss since last Aug. 19 with the Braves getting shut out. Minor had won seven straight since losing to the Dodgers last August. Just like today, Minor gave up one run and the Braves were shut out in that one. Minor hasn’t given up more than three runs and lost since way back on June 30. Unfortunately, he was outdueled by the Royals’ Wade Davis, who tossed seven shutout innings. Still, don’t take anything away from Minor, who remains hot out of the gate. He has allowed just two earned runs in 19 innings (0.95 ERA) and his five strikeouts Wednesday gives him 20 for the season. (Rotoworld, CBS Sports)

Ryan Braun said his neck is no longer an issue. Braun entered Wednesday’s game with just one hit in his last 18 at-bats while striking out 10 times over that stretch. It prompted concerns about a neck injury that cropped up earlier in the month, but the outfielder insists his swing is just out of whack right now. “My neck is fine now,” he said. “It was [messed] up for a while. The first couple of games in St. Louis I’m sure it didn’t help, but it’s not an issue now. Nothing is physical. I’m fine. My swing just [stinks] sometimes.” (Rotoworld)

Brandon Phillips went 2-for-2 with three RBI as the Reds defeated the Phillies on Wednesday. Phillips did all his damage in the first three innings, as he was later replaced by Cesar Izturis in the blowout. Phillips is now hitting .351 with a whopping 19 RBI for the year. As long as he continues to hit in the middle of the Reds order, there’s no reason to think he can’t continue to rack up the counting stats as well. (Rotoworld)